Moose Jaw’s Heritage Inn will be the site of convergence for more than 160 emergency medical practitioners when they arrive for the Emergency Medical Practitioners Development Recert Conference this weekend.

“It was originally designed for first responders, who are volunteers in our rural communities and who respond to emergencies. They need recertification credits in order to keep their licences up with Saskatchewan Health,” said Ray Francis, chairman for the South Saskatchewan First Responders (SSFR), the organization hosting the event.

“This year, we’ve expanded it to all practitioners in the EMS world, from first responders right up to full paramedics, to come and get credits from the College of Paramedics toward their licence,” he said.

Registration is still open, but so far 160 people from all across the province have signed up to attend, Francis said.

The conference equips attendees with “the newest and grooviest information” about emergency medical practices and techniques, said Francis, and includes a pair of guest speakers.

“There’s two guest speakers: Pete Lazarra and Tom Hiller. Hiller is an international speaker from Saskatoon and Lazarra is from Chicago, where he is a paramedic with Chicago fire. He’s been there 29 years and he’s a director of education for the EMS side,” said Francis.

“We are very fortunate (to have) Pete,” Francis added. “He often charges thousands of dollars to do his sessions, but he comes to Saskatchewan for free. He loves the people here and has commented many times that this is his favourite place, so we pay his expenses and he does everything for free.”

The conference will run until Sunday. Those wishing to attend must register beforehand. For more information, contact Francis at 694-2151.